To be a Prince

To be a prince part 1

To be a Prince

They say a Prince must put others before himself, be a good leader with a kind heart.

But for Legolas no rules like these applied, The young prince had been born and raised in

Thranduil's court...It was a cold place for a man like himself to learn and grow.

For as long as Legolas could remember his father had not shown him much compassion, he dared not ask why his father had always given him a cold shoulder, had never once praised him for his outstanding skills as an archer, leader and skilled knife master her only nodded and drank his wine.

With no mother to teach him compassion Legolas was always as cold faced as his heart, keeping everyone at an arm's length never letting anyone get close, except for one day the Prince let a She-elf by the name of Tauriel come so close she touched his cold heart. From that day he'd shown only her the side no one else would ever see, not only did the prince excel at many things, but he was unmatched by anyone in Middle-Earth not even a woman's beauty could compare to his own.

Legolas spent all of his elven years in Eryn Lasgalen, either fighting spiders, Orcs or something more. Legolas' tasks were always tiring, always time consuming but whom did he have time to spend with? His only friend was Tauriel and he couldn't always track her down when he was feeling alone in this bitter world. Legolas had never fitted in with the rest of his kind, they secretly shunned him thinking the prince would be the same man his father had grown to be. And what he feared most was that they would be right, he'd have the same cold heart, Same uncaring expressionless face, he would be forever bound to the WoodLand realm until he passed his own heir onto the throne itself.

To this present day the young prince stared at the sky from the back of his horse the deepening purples of the setting sun setting the view above ablaze, The prince had been gone for a long time, he had ditched all Princely duties to see the rest of middle-earth seeking adventure on every turn of his life. Thranduil had not see his son in nearly an age, Legolas was taller, his hair bleached by the sun's rays, his skin holding a small tan from the days riding through much of the world's scenery. The last place Legolas had gone to was Rivendell and it was upon his journey he had run into Aragorn son of Arathorn the young Daunedain, it was true he had the look of a great king but he was an unbelievable eighty-seven year old man.

The two had spent days riding together, setting out to patrol orc packs that roamed near by, the two sharing stories of their adventures. It was at that moment Legolas felt something inside him was changing, he was not as guarded with Aragorn as he thought he'd be, every time the man asked him a question the elf answered with enthusiasm and a care free smile, something Thranduil would have seen beaten out of him. The king rarely ever smiled unless he was drunk but Legolas made an inward promise never to be as bad as his father. He would only drink on a rare occasion, it is said when a person is drunk their hearts are easier to corrupt, thus vowing never to drink around people for fear of being taken advantage of. But when it came to Aragorn...Legolas did not mind being corrupted by him.

The Prince's horse pulled him from his deep thoughts of the ranger, the beast had stopped moving all together, training his eyes forwards from the sky to see the gates of Eryn Lasgalen the prince gave a subtle sigh. He was home...this did not bode well inside of his heart, he did not want to return to this solemn place but here he had no choice his father had sent for him and it seemed urgent. Letting the gates open Legolas stepped his horse into his childhood home...the place that was so beautiful but forever held upsetting memories for him. As the beast walked on he was met with the same cold stares of his people that he'd grown accustomed to growing up here, not a single elf held love for the prince being who he was.

Sliding from his horse letting the stable master take him away Legolas turned to his left walking up the winding staircase to a long corridor, giving himself an inward shake his feet carried him to the doors, giving a bow of his head the two armored guards stepped aside opening the doors for the Prince. Letting his feet guide him inside Legolas kept his eyes upon the floor his own reflection staring back at him, he did not want to see his father but could not say no to a direct order to the only living relative he had left in his life.

Stopping short of the throne Legolas let his eyes slowly guide up to his father's steps, then to his feet before scanning fully up the King's body to see the deathly icy stare of the king. "Legolas welcome home...we have something important to discuss it involves finding you a mate to produce an heir for the throne" Legolas swallowed the rage that built in his chest, his father was already finding brides for the Prince while he was gone?

What ever happened for choosing for himself?

Deep sapphire eyes gazed into the icy blue hues of his father he could not hide the spite in his voice "Choose me a bride? Father please I know your intentions are good but..I wish not to be married I wish to choose for myself whom I pledge my love to..and someone has taken my heart by storm" Legolas felt courage swell in his chest, something he wished had come to him when he was a boy growing up in this dark place. Thranduil's body stiffened at the young Prince's words his eyes narrowing into sharp gaze "Pray tell me..to whom have you fallen for in your travels?"

This was it....this was the moment he had dreaded the moment when he would tell his father of the hardship he face when he left for Rivendell.

"I have fallen in love with someone who's heart is pure, his beauty is that of an elf...and he is to be king in the future...his name is Aragorn son of Arathron, leader of the Dunedain and future king to Gondor...I have grown-" The prince's words were cut short from an out burst from Thranduil.

"A man?! a mortal man has ensnared your heart?!, do you know how absurd that is? he will wither and die while you stay timeless! I will not let you fall into grief and die over a small infatuation Legolas, you are my only son and heir we need someone to produce a legitimate heir to take the throne, when you and I have passed the gates of death to Mandos...I will hear no more of this nonsense you have made a promise as prince a promise to the people of Lasgalen to become a great King but who will rule when you are long gone?...no tomorrow we will search for a bride..someone who is worthy of your title"

Legolas opened his mouth to argue but at this point in time he knew how futile it would be to raise an argument with his father, Sapphire eyes filled with rage as the prince turned and left the room in a hurry. Not bothering to let the guards open the doors the prince flung them open with such a force the handles rattled, keeping his back to all behind him the Prince let his feet carry him to the privacy of his chambers only there could the prince let out his desperate angry cry that seeped from his vocal chords.

Running a hand through his golden mane the Prince sat upon his bed staring at the marble flooring bellow him...if his father could not see how much Aragorn meant to Legolas..then maybe leaving Lasgalen was for the best, but Princely duty bound him to his people and far from his beloved, to give up on his people for a love so precious or let go of his love to care for the people he was left to rule.

Hot rage flushed through the Prince as his words spat out bitterly..."To be a Prince....is a nightmare.."